Will Clinton’s speech top Obama’s?

Speechwriters from both parties agree Hillary Clinton delivered a knockout speech at Tuesday’s Democratic National Convention.

By Michael SebastianAug. 28, 2008

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After a fractious primary that ended with Barack Obama’s victory in June, the defeated Clinton returned Tuesday to deliver a highly anticipated speech at the Democratic National Convention—a speech meant to unite and fire up the party.

Speechwriters from both parties agree she accomplished this goal.

“The time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose,” Clinton said in the opening moments of her speech. “We are on the same team and none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future and it’s a fight we must win together.”

During the address, Clinton avoided the policy-heavy style that defined many of her speeches in the primary and focused instead on inspiration, personal and touching.

“She wasn’t homework Hillary on this occasion,” explained speechwriter Hal Gordon. “It wasn’t a wonkish kind of speech, she was relating to people on a very personal level.”

Gordon, a former Reagan speechwriter, identified himself as a Republican and said that despite his political leanings and overall dislike of the Clintons, the former first lady hit a homerun.